He shares his Japanese name—which can be taken to mean "wisdom" or "reason" (智)—with the creator of the Pokémon franchise, Satoshi Tajiri. His English surname is a pun of the English motto, "Gotta catch 'em all!."

In the anime

History

Ash trying to keep Pikachu safe

Ash enrolled in Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp when he was young. One day, another camper named Serena got lost in the forest and wounded her leg after getting startled by a Poliwag. Ash, who was looking for the Poliwag, came to her rescue and wrapped a handkerchief around the wounded knee to brace it. He then helped her up and guided her out of the forest.

Years later, Ash began his Pokémon journey at the age of 10 as a warm-hearted and well-intentioned but stubborn, rash, and amateur Pokémon Trainer. He was forced to accept a stubbornPikachu from Professor Oak as his starter Pokémon because he woke up late on the day he was set to get his first Pokémon. He was determined to achieve his goal, however, and when Pikachu saw that he was willing to compromise his own safety to keep it safe, the two of them formed an extremely strong bond that has been noticed and remarked upon by many characters in the anime. This unbreakable friendship would set his course for the future.

However, from that point, Ash still had a lot to learn about becoming a Trainer. The first Pokémon he caught was caught by luck, as he knew absolutely nothing about battling, and he was hesitant to admit when he was wrong. What more, his journey was made even more complicated due to the presence of Jessie, James and Meowth of Team Rocket, who after witnessing Pikachu's power, made it their primary objective to steal him for their boss, Giovanni.

Thankfully though, Ash did not go on this journey alone, as soon after he left Pallet Town, he met Misty, who followed him on the pretense that he owed her a bike (which Ash 'borrowed' to save Pikachu, and which the Electric Mouse destroyed whilst protecting Ash). Ash then met Brock, the Pewter Gym Leader, whom he fought and lost to. However in his rematch, Ash nearly defeated Brock, but refused to give the final blow, due to the intervention of Brock's younger siblings. Touched by Ash's kindness to Pokémon, and with the return of his estranged father, Flint, Brock decided to go with Ash and pursue his dream of being the world's best Pokémon Breeder. Shortly afterwards, when Ash reached the Cerulean Gym, he was shocked to learn that Misty was one of its Gym Leaders. After Ash earned his Cascade Badge, he continued his journey with Misty, who dreams to be the worlds greatest Water Pokémon Master.

Unfortunately, many of Ash's first Gym Badges were given to him merely out of gratitude for his assistance rather than claiming an actual victory in battle over the Gym Leaders; of his first five Gym battles, only his victory over Lt. Surge was an actual victory. Furthermore, every time he thought he was doing well, he would somehow cross paths with his childhood rival, Gary Oak. Gary always reminded Ash that he was always a step or seven behind; indeed, by the time Ash had caught his seventh Pokémon, Gary had caught more than forty. Ash's troubles were not made any easier when, owing to his inexperience, his Charizard grew too powerful and refused to listen to him until Ash could prove himself to him.

Over time, Ash's dedication to his goal paid off. After earning his first eight Badges, Ash went on to compete in the Indigo Plateau Conference, advancing to the fifth round - one further than Gary - and ending up in the Top 16.

Following Ash's defeat in the Indigo League, Professor Oak asked him to travel to Valencia Island in the Orange Archipelago to retrieve the GS Ball from a Pokémon Professor named Ivy. While in the Orange Archipelago, Ash learned of the Orange Crew - an elite group of Trainers not unlike Gym Leaders that provided challenges for Trainers to overcome in the Orange League. After Brock decided to stay with Professor Ivy and help her with her work, Ash and Misty were joined by an enthusiastic Pokémon watcher named Tracey Sketchit. Ash, Misty, and Tracey then traversed the Orange Islands on the back of a lost Lapras whom Ash captured. He eventually defeated the four members of the Orange Crew and finally won the Orange League by triumphing over the Head Leader, Drake. Upon returning to Pallet Town, Ash discovered that Brock had returned due to some unknown incident that left the aspiring Pokémon Breeder in dread of even hearing Professor Ivy's name. Tracey, meanwhile, stayed at Professor Oak's laboratory as Professor Oak's assistant, and Brock rejoined Ash and Misty. After his victory in the Orange League, Ash encountered Gary again, and after being defeated in a one-on-one battle, he learned that his rival had been training hard in order to participate in the Silver Conference in Johto.

Excited at the prospect of meeting new Pokémon and facing Gary again, Ash and friends left for the Johto region to collect eight Badges from the Gym Leaders there and compete in their Pokémon League. Much like his travels through Kanto, Ash, Misty, and Brock impacted the many people and Pokémon they met along the way. In the middle of his travels, they visited the Whirl Islands, who, along with Ritchie, helped save Silver, a child Lugia, and its parent, from the evil machinations of Team Rocket. Ash along with Misty then competed in the Whirl Cup, with Ash placing in the top 8, who was defeated by Misty in a 3-on-3, though she also ended up losing in the next round.

Ash encountered Gary occasionally in Johto, and while they were still rivals, Gary seemed to view Ash with slightly more respect than before. Indeed, Ash's growth of character was evident throughout this story arc as he continued to think more and more about his Pokémon and less and less about himself. After earning eight Johto Gym Badges, Ash entered the Silver Conference along with Gary. Finally, the two rivals battled in the tournament in a Full Battle. Although it was very close indeed, Ash emerged victorious against his rival for the first time in his career as a Pokémon Trainer, marking one of the biggest turning points in said career. After the battle, Gary and Ash departed on good terms with each other, finally overcoming their boyhood animosity and recognizing each other as equals. However, Ash's journey through Kanto and Johto came to an end when he was forced to split up with Brock and Misty when the two of them received messages to return home.

After hearing about a more distant region called Hoenn from Harrison, the opponent he lost to in the Silver Conference, Ash decided to journey there and take only Pikachu with him this time. In Hoenn, Ash met a girl named May and her brother, Max, who he later learned were Norman's (the Petalburg City Gym Leader) children, and both of whom decided to join Ash on his travels. Shortly after the three companions left Petalburg City, Brock rejoined the group when he saved them from a flock of angry Taillow and their leader. From that point onward, Ash journeyed through Hoenn with one old friend and two new friends, collecting Gym Badges in much the same fashion as before. Once May set her sights on becoming a Top Coordinator, Ash supported her whenever he could while maintaining his focus on winning Badges. During these journey's Ash and his friends ended up being entwined in the plots of the regions two rivaling villainous teams, Team Aqua and Team Magma, with Pikachu actually getting possessed by Groudon in the summit of their conflict. However, thanks to theirs, as well as Team Rocket's (unintentional) help, they actually helped save the entire Hoenn region.

While Ash had no major recurring rival in Hoenn, he did encounter certain Trainers multiple times and form friendly rivalries with them. One such friend is Morrison, who is very similar to and just as competitive as Ash and was first introduced close to the end of the group's travels in Hoenn. Just like the Indigo Plateau and Silver Conferences, Ash did not win the Ever Grande Conference, although he came very close before losing to Tyson, who went on to win the tournament. After parting ways with May, Max, and Brock, Ash returned to Pallet . As he passed through Viridian City on his way back home, where he met Scott and Agatha and learned about the Battle Frontier in Kanto. He decided to take on the Battle Frontier and was surprised but happy to learn that Brock, May, and Max would join him on this adventure as well. Eventually, Ash conquered the seven Frontier Brains and was offered the opportunity to become a Frontier Brain himself, but declined in favor of continuing his Pokémon journey.

Ash in the Wallace Cup

Following Ash's victory over the Battle Frontier, May set her sights on Pokémon Contests in the Johto region and traveled there while Max returned home to Petalburg City in Hoenn. After encountering and battling his old rival, Gary (who has now become a Pokémon researcher), and learning of a new region with new Pokémon, Ash decided to leave for the Sinnoh region to earn the Gym Badges available there. Like before, he took only Pikachu with him at first, but brought his Aipom along when she snuck onto the ship Ash was leaving on. While Brock did not accompany Ash to Sinnoh, he did travel with him through Sinnoh like he had for Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn. This time, they were accompanied by another aspiring Pokémon Coordinator named Dawn. Like he did for May, Ash enthusiastically supported Dawn in her endeavors to become a Top Coordinator, just as she supported him in his Gym battles.

While traveling through Sinnoh, Ash formed a heated rivalry with a Trainer named Paul. Throughout Ash's journey, Paul would constantly put him down and the two often argued over their nearly opposite training styles. While Paul was harsh, distant, and sometimes plain cruel to his Pokémon, Ash insisted that the best way to raise Pokémon was through patience, caring and friendship. Their rivalry came to a head after they competed in a Tag BattleTournament together, when Paul released his Chimchar after it failed to meet his expectations. Ash then decided to take in the Chimp Pokémon, and promised to make it strong using his own philosophy.

As Ash and his friends journeyed through Sinnoh, they ended up becoming heavily involved with legends of Sinnoh, with Ash being personally chosen by Azelf of the Lake guardians. Along with Cynthia, Looker and Team Rocket, they faced of against Pokémon Hunter J as well as the evil Team Galactic. Thanks to their efforts, the Sinnoh region was spared from Cyrus's insane scheme.

Ash eventually obtained all of the Sinnoh Gym Badges he needed to enter Sinnoh's Pokémon League Conference. During his battles in the Lily of the Valley Conference, he managed to advance to the Top 4. For the second time since meeting Paul (the first being in a PokéRinger tournament during which Ash's Staravia evolved into a Staraptor and defeated Paul's Honchkrow), Ash managed to defeat his bitter rival, using Infernape (who had evolved from the Chimchar Paul abandoned) to deal the finishing blow. This caused Paul to finally acknowledge Ash as a Trainer of some merit, thus ending their arguments. Ash later fought against Tobias, becoming the only known Trainer to defeat his Darkrai. Although Ash ultimately lost the battle, he was not overly upset, as he was closer to his Pokémon than ever before. At the conclusion of the Diamond & Pearl series, Ash, Dawn, and Brock split up and went their separate ways, with Brock confirming that he would not be joining Ash on his travels to Unova as he decided to pursue his new dream of being a Pokémon doctor.

Soon after he started his journey, Ash met Iris a wild girl who is (as he later learns) a possible successor of the Opelucid City Gym and wishes to be a Dragon Master, and Cilan, one of the Striaton Gym Leaders, who aspires to be the world's greatest Pokémon Connoisseur. After Ash earns their interest by telling Iris of his encounter with Zekrom, and battling Cilan for the Tri Badge, the three decide to travel together. During his time in Unova, along with his quest for the Badges, the three friends also competed in the local competitions Club Battle, Clubsplosion and Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup. Despite battling quite well, Ash failed to win any of the tournaments and managed to be the runner-up of two of the three. Despite these mishaps, he was not upset to see his friends win the competitions instead of him.

As they journeyed, Ash and friends ended up again being caught up in Team Rocket's new plot, which was personally being supervised by Giovanni. This time, Team Rocket planned to take over the world using a Meloetta that Ash befriended to unleash the power of the Forces of Nature. Fortunately, thanks to Cynthia and Ridley, Ash and his friends managed to thwart Team Rocket's evil plot.

After managing to obtain eight Unova Gym Badges, Ash was allowed to participate in the Vertress Conference along with his current and some new rivals. In the preliminary round, Ash battled Trip one-on-one, defeating him for the first time and ending their rivalry. Ash also defeated his friend and rival Stephan in the tournament. He then battled one of his newer rivals, Cameron, where he lost in A Unova League Evolution!, ending in the Top 8 of the Vertress Conference.

After the Conference, the three friends decided to check out some ruins that Professor Juniper's father, Cedric Juniper discovered, and on the way they met with a strange young man named N. They soon became entwined in the plots of Ghetsis, Colress and Team Plasma as they sought to takeover the world using Reshiram's power. However Ash and his friends, along with Looker, the Team Rocket trio, Professor Cedric, as well as N, Anthea and Concordia, managed to foil Plasma's evil scheme.

As their adventures started coming to a close, Ash and his friends decided to take the long way back to Kanto, by sailing on a series of luxury liners through a chain of islands called the Decolore Islands. On the way, Ash met Alexa, a Pokémon Journalist, from whom he learnt of the Kalos region. Soon after they reach Kanto, Ash splits up with Iris and Cilan, who wish to go in separate directions to follow their own dreams.

In the XY series, Ash traveled to the Kalos region with Alexa, first visiting Lumiose City in Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!, where he parted ways with with the journalist and tried to challenge the Lumiose Gym at Prism Tower. However he was forcibly ejected from the tower when the computerized security system, later revealed to be the Clembot, found out that he didn't have any Kalos Badges. He was rescued by Clemont and Bonnie, who started to travel with him after he calmed down a rampaging Garchomp at the top of Prism Tower. In Battling on Thin Ice!, Ash won his first Kalos Badge, the Bug Badge, after defeating the SantaluneGym Leader Viola. The group was then joined by Serena, who still remembered Ash rescuing her in her childhood and decided to start her own journey to reunite with him, although he initially did not remember the two of them meeting. As they travelled, the group started to learn the secrets of Mega Evolution, after meeting Diantha and Gurkinn, as well as briefly travelling with Korrina.

So far Ash has earned four badges.

Character

Young Ash

Ash is an only child that lived with his mother, Delia Ketchum, until he left for his Pokémon journey at the age of ten. His main goal in life, as described in the first episode, is to be the world's greatest Pokémon Master. One particular characteristic about Ash that has not changed over the course of the series, aside from his determination and his passion for raising and training Pokémon, is that he is incredibly selfless. He will often go to extraordinary lengths to earn a Pokémon's trust and respect, and to better understand a Pokémon that he sees as troubled. He is also very fair-minded and trusting, a true testament to his good-natured character.

Ash is shown to have a strong sense of justice, especially when it comes to Pokémon. If a Pokémon is in trouble, he will make every effort to help them, even if he has no prior connection to them. If they are the cause of trouble, he will stop them, and then try to understand them, with almost all such occasions being a case of the Pokémon, or their Trainers or friends, having a problem which can't be resolved normally. In those cases, he will selflessly volunteer to help them. Should the problem be caused by a person, such as Team Rocket, Pokémon thieves, hunters or poachers, Ash resolves to do anything in his power to stop them.

Despite this, and previous dealings with evil organizations, Ash has retained a remarkably optimistic and naive outlook, a trait his companions seem to share. He is quick to praise and has an unshakable trust in both his Pokémon and his friends. Also, Ash is determined to see the best in everybody unless he has a very good reason not to. An example would be Team Rocket's frequent 'sudden appearances' that coincidentally coincide with their needs at that time, and Ash never questioning it until it is too late. Another example would be how he always praises Clemont for his 'genius' inventions, no matter their high failure rate, and the near inevitable explosion, or Cilan for his other varied 'Connoisseur abilities,' even if they are ridiculous. Furthermore, even though almost all of his friends have large dreams, Ash fully supports them and has never doubted their ability to accomplish them, possibly due to his own highly ambitious goal. He also encourages Pokémon to do the best they can, even if they aren't his own, and has even helped train wild Pokémon.

In the beginning, Ash had a bit of an inferiority complex, as well as some form of personal pride, most likely stemming from his rivalry with Gary Oak. As a result, he had some bad habits, such as shamelessly boasting of his own skill if he were ever on a winning streak, and becoming angered easily if he were personally insulted, as seen in The Path to the Pokémon League. Ash used to complain about things that were perfectly legal, like Giselle's Cubone using a bone in The School of Hard Knocks, or Blaine's use of the lava in Volcanic Panic. He even locked himself up in his room and sulked after losing to Ritchie, although he overcame his disappointment after being scolded by Misty in Friends to the End. Fortunately, during his journey, Ash has gotten over this particular character trait and is now more accepting of criticism to his own skill, though he still gets upset if his Pokémon are insulted or degraded. This was the primary catalyst for Ash's bitter rivalry with Paul in the Diamond & Pearl series.

Ash after catching a Pokémon

In most episodes of the anime, especially those during the Johto League saga, Ash befriends someone who will influence him and cause him to strive to become a better Trainer. Although he is not a dependent individual, he is still young and has learned to make his way relying on his friends, particularly the maternal skills of Brock. The honor of "best friend" is usually reserved for Pikachu but Ash has come to see his closest human friends in the same light over time; using the term for Misty and Brock in Gotta Catch Ya Later! as well as May and Max in Battling the Enemy Within.

Ash has changed a great deal over the course of the series, particularly in regards to his skill at Pokémon training, but his earnestness, rashness, and determination have remained. Never straying from his goal, he has remained loyal to his friends, family, and supporters, but most of all his Pokémon. Ash became a great Trainer by learning to find and use the inner strength of each of his Pokémon by bonding with them. For example, when he received a banner filled with prints from his Pokémon in The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing!, he knew which Pokémon placed specific prints, showing his close bond with them. He also learns where their hidden abilities lie, as well as resorting to unorthodox strategies when fighting particularly challenging opponents. For example, he uses his Pikachu's speed to outmaneuver larger foes and attack. In another instance, his Charizard defeated Gary's Blastoise by causing the field to overheat before mounting a close-quarters attack while Blastoise was blinded by the steam. He also prefers to train a Pokémon to be the best it can without forcing it to evolve, as evidenced by his treatment of Gligar in Fighting Fear With Fear!. He is happy when his Pokémon evolve but lets them choose whether or not they want to evolve instead of forcing them.

Early on, Ash originally trained not to further himself but instead to catch more Pokémon than Gary, a feat that he never accomplished. Ash later slowed his pace, which allowed him to focus on the individual traits of each Pokémon. At the Johto League Silver Conference, with great humility and maturity, Ash finally won a battle against his old rival, signifying a great milestone in his history as a Trainer. His maturity has also increased in his dealings with Pokémon. This was shown when a Mankey stole his hat in Primeape Goes Bananas, he screamed and yelled at it, even climbing trees just to get his hat back, but when an Aipom did the same in Slaking Kong, he stated merely that he would feel strange without a hat. When Aipom stole his hat again in Setting the World on its Buneary!, however, while she was under his ownership, he chased after her in the same manner as before.

Ash has gained a close connection with many Legendary Pokémon, such as the ones who played major roles in the movies. In the English dub second movie, he was revealed to be "The Chosen One" - the one who would bring balance back to the world when it was disrupted.

Although viewed as a normal human, Ash does have some special abilities, as he is said to have the same Aura as Sir Aaron, a legendary hero, and is theoretically able to manipulate it in much the same way. Therefore, he made a connection with Sir Aaron's Lucario. However, he has not received any training in this field, opting to continue his Pokémon journey instead. He has also been likened to an ancient Aura guardian in The Keystone Pops!, who also had a partner Pikachu. Later, in Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Parts 1 and 2, Ash uses Aura again to locate a lost Riolu and read Riolu's mind as well. This time, however, he merely senses the Aura, rather than manipulating it.

Though his passion remains in battling, Ash is always eager to try new things, especially if he can do them together with his Pokémon, having participated in other events like Contests, PokéRinger and even a fashion show and a cosplay competition as well as other various races, sports, shows and tournaments. He has Contest Passes for Sinnoh and Hoenn. Ash carries half of a broken Poké Ball with him everywhere, while Gary has the other half, as a symbol of their ongoing, but now friendly, rivalry; Misty's special lure, which she sent to him as a gift; and half of a Ribbon he received in an unofficial Contest against May before she left the group to compete in Johto.

While Ash could never truly be called smart, he is physically in very good shape, especially for a 10 year old boy. He has shown to have a lot of stamina, walking miles upon miles through all kinds of environments, while journeying between towns on his journey. He also has huge endurance, as seen when he took powerful attacks from various Pokémon head on and then recovering quite quickly. Furthermore, Ash has demonstrated himself to be a bit acrobatic, occasionally being able to keep up with Iris, who virtually grew up swinging and jumping through treetops. Ash has occasionally displayed great reflexes, being able to dodge attacks or catch falling objects out of the blue, and even being able to save himself, or others, in the last second during perilous situations. What's more, Ash has exhibited tremendous will power, as seen when he took attacks for long periods of time and keeps advancing, which also drives his "never give up" attitude when it comes to Pokémon battles.

His father has not been introduced. The anime suggests that his father was once a Pokémon Trainer who began his journey in Pallet Town, and that he is still living. In the original, he is also confirmed to have a grandfather, whose son followed his footsteps. An interview with the series' storyboarder Masamitsu Hidaka confirmed Ash's father is a Trainer on his own journey. According to Hidaka, Ash's father may or may not be introduced in the series, depending on its necessity to further Ash's maturity and development as a Trainer. On the other hand, according to Takeshi Shudō's novelization, Ash's father left home to go on a journey right after Ash was born, and never returned since. As he never registered his name in the Pokémon Trainer's list, his whereabouts are unknown.

Pokémon

As a Trainer, Ash has captured and befriended a sizable number of Pokémon over the course of the anime. His philosophy on training is that Pokémon are individuals and that a combination of trust, friendship and hard work are needed to overcome adversity. In fact, several of Ash's Pokémon were captured because they allowed him to, after he befriended them. He seems to battle best with Pokémon that are similar to Pikachu: ones that are speedy and maneuverable, yet able to perform high-powered attacks; however, he is willing to work with any Pokémon that comes into his care.

Ash's battle style is generally spontaneous and fairly unorthodox, and his Pokémon often reflect these traits. He has been shown to use unusual strategies. For instance, during the Diamond & Pearl series, he incorporated a twisting-spinning type maneuver in his Pokémon's offensive and defensive techniques, which eventually lead to him creating the original technique, Counter Shield. Also, sometimes he would use someone else's battle strategies as shown with Paul and Tierno, though when using the latter, Ash stated that his own unique strategy is the one he can truly count on, instead of simply mimicking others. The majority of his Pokémon also share Ash's stubborn nature, persistently attempting to rise and continue the battle, even after receiving greats amount of damage and being at the end of their rope.

Ash is very attached to his Pokémon, and prefers to fight and train with them personally. However, if it is by their own wish, or if he believes it is best for them, Ash will (if sometimes reluctantly) trade or release them, and in some cases, leave them with experienced individuals so that they could get stronger.

Though Ash normally catches 5 or more Pokémon per region (not including when he travelled through the Orange Islands and challenged the Battle Frontier in his second tour of Kanto), he rarely ever switches the Pokémon in his current party with those in storage at Professor Oak's laboratory. However, during the Best Wishes series, Ash actively cycled through the nine Pokémon he managed to capture in Unova, although these Pokémon, when not in his party, were instead kept in storage at Professor Juniper's lab in Nuvema Town. Near the end of his journey in Unova, Professor Juniper transfered all of Ash's Pokémon to Professor Oak's lab. Ash has not yet used this system of training in the following series.

Ash currently has ownership of 68 Pokémon, including all 30 of his Tauros. Including pre-evolutions, traded, released and given away Pokémon (and not including the additional Tauros), in total, Ash has currently officially owned a total of 76 different Pokémon species.

Unofficial

Temporary

This section is for the Pokémon that Ash temporarily used, many of which were rented and belong to another Trainer.

Pidgey

When Team Rocket attacked the Viridian City Pokémon Center, Ash, in an attempt to defend the Pokémon from Team Rocket's Ekans and Koffing, utilized a Pidgey, but their Ekans managed to intimidate it and force it to flee.

It has no known attacks, due to Pidgey fleeing before Ash could even attack.

When Team Rocket attacked the Viridian City Pokémon Center, Ash, in an attempt to defend the Pokémon from Team Rocket's Ekans and Koffing, utilized a Rattata, but their Ekans managed to intimidate it and force it to flee.

It has no known attacks, due to Rattata fleeing before Ash could even attack.

Ash borrowed Rapidash from Lara Laramie when it was a Ponyta after Lara was injured and could not ride it in the race. It evolved into Rapidash while racing against Dario's Dodrio. Thanks to the speed gained through the evolution, Ash and Rapidash were able to win the race.

The Pokémon League entrance exam instructor gave Ash a Weezing by having him choose his own set of Poké Balls provided by the instructor. It was used during the Pokémon League exam by battling the Instructor's Flareon and won.

Meowth was the final Pokémon used by Ash during the Pokémon League exam. It was up against the Instructor's Vaporeon in which Vaporeon froze the Meowth causing Team Rocket's Meowth to interfere with the battle by kicking the frozen one free. It was accidentally blasted off along with Team Rocket, but the temporary switch was fixed in the next episode.

Ash commanded Brock's Lombre during the battle with Team Rocket since Brock stayed behind in a stadium to perform with Corphish while Ash and the others went after Team Rocket after they took Lombre instead of Mawile.

Ash encountered Brock's Sudowoodo when the group was separated by Graveler and Golem. After stopping a fight, Ash went with Sudowoodo to get out of the maze and find Dawn and Brock. When they were found, Ash had Sudowoodo Mimic Pachirisu's Discharge to break a hole in the maze wall after finding them from the other side.

During the first day of the summer school academy, Ash was given a Raichu to train. It was called to battle Angie's Monferno and was able to put up a great fight. It had a very timid personality, digging into the ground when Ash first talked to it.

This Butterfree was found on Wayfarer Island as a Caterpie, where its lazy tendencies caused it to not evolve and be left behind by its swarm. To help it, Ash temporarily trained the wild Caterpie in order to help it evolve all the way to Butterfree so it wouldn't be left behind. Caterpie evolved into Metapod after it and Pikachu fended off a wild Ursaring. To save Pikachu from Team Rocket, it evolved into a Butterfree and teamed up with Pikachu to blast the trio away. Afterward, it shared a tearful goodbye with Ash as it returned to its swarm.

Ash temporarily commanded a borrowed Rhyhorn, in order to participate at the Rhyhorn race held at Odyssey Village. In the beginning, it was difficult for Ash to handle Rhyhorn, but the two gradually learned to work together.

This Scatterbug was stolen by Dolan and locked in a cage. The cage fell off the truck while Dolan was on the run from Officer Jenny, whereupon Ash and his friends found Scatterbug and prevented it from being recaptured by Dolan. It evolved into a Spewpa later on and when it had a battle with Dolan's Diggersby, it evolved into a Vivillon with an Elegant Pattern. Vivillon was then able to defeat Dolan and Diggersby.

Temporary

In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga

Ash Ketchum is a starring character in The Electric Tale of Pikachu, a manga series based on the anime. Ash's journey in The Electric Tale of Pikachu follows roughly the same plot as in the anime: first traveling the Kanto region to participate in the Pokémon League, before embarking on a journey around the Orange Archipelago.

In the Magical Pokémon Journey manga

Ash, along with Misty and Brock, made cameo appearances in bonus chapters of the Magical Pokémon Journey manga. In the bonus chapters, Ash and his friends have mistakenly wandered into the world Magical Pokémon Journey is set in. The bonus chapters chronicle their attempts to return to their own world (of the anime) and their encounters with various aspects of the Magical Pokémon Journey canon which differ from the anime's canon (such as the use of Poké Balls).

Pokémon

On hand

Traded away

Temporary

In the movie adaptations

Ash with his friends in the movie 10 manga adaptation

Since Ash and his Pikachu have appeared in every Pokémon movie to date, likewise, Ash is a main character in every Pokémon movie manga adaptation. The same applies with Ash's team as they made similar appearances.

In the TCG

Ash's PokémonCards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.Cards listed with a silver background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.

The date of Ash's birth, according to Takeshi Shudo's anime novelizations, is 10 years, 10 months, and 10 days exactly prior to the day he began his Pokémon journey. Being that the same novelization declares that Pokémon Trainers obtain their first Pokémon in April of the year following their 10th birthday, and the anime itself began broadcast on the first of that month in 1997 in Japan, Ash's birthday, if April 1 was the first day of his journey, would be May 22.

On a related note, Ash is still considered 10 years old in promotional materials as well as the first episode of Best Wishes despite Until We Meet Again! strongly implying that at least a full year had passed since his time in Johto.

When Veronica Taylor was interviewed in the documentary "Adventures in Voice Acting", she stated that during her audition for the role of Ash, he was known as Casey at the time. This name would later be given to a recurring character from Johto.

Ash has lost at least one Gym battle in every region. He lost to Brock and Lt. Surge in Kanto, Whitney in Johto, Norman and Brawly in Hoenn (although his first battle with Norman was an unofficial battle), Roark and Fantina in Sinnoh, Lenora in Unova, and Viola in Kalos.

Names

Language

Name

Origin

Japanese

サトシ Satoshi

Can be taken to mean 智 akira (wisdom; reason); named after Satoshi Tajiri.

EnglishGermanItalianSpanishCanadian FrenchDutchHindi

Ash Ketchum

Ketchum sounds similar to catch 'em. First name can be found in Japanese name, Satoshi. Also, Ash is a default name for Red in Pokémon Red and Blue. Ash trees are suggested as another explanation as well.